The recent substantial increases in the price of gasoline have resulted in a problem in totaling and displaying on the gas pump the total price of the amount of fuel delivered to a vehicle. Typical gas pump units have a counter which measures and displays the number of gallons delivered to the vehicle and the total price of the purchase. The counter can count and display up to 99 9/10 gallons and up to $9.99. The total gallons delivered are displayed in a series of three adjacent horizontal windows in a sheet metal display face on the gas pump. Similarly, the total price of the delivered fuel is displayed in a series of three horizontal windows in the display unit face, one window for dollar amounts and two for cents. Numbered counting wheels on the counter show through these windows in the display unit face.
The increased price of gasoline brought on by the fuel shortage and the Arab oil embargo have resulted in a practical problem not heretofore encountered. Specifically, while it was previously virtually unheard of for any standard automobile to have a gas tank large enough to hold more than $9.99 worth of gas, the present price of gasoline often results in more than $10.00 worth of gas being taken by an automobile. The counting units did not have the capacity to show more than $9.99, and the display units on the gas pump did not have the capability of displaying more than $9.99.
As interim measures, some gas stations adopted the practice of counting half the price of the gas being delivered and then doubling the price displayed on the meter. Still others would let the counter run over whereby the amount shown on the counter would be $10.00 less than the amount actually delivered. These practices often cause disputes between the gas station attendant and the motorist, and various state regulatory agencies objected to these practices.
The manufacturers of gas pump meters or counters responded to the problem by modifying existing meter installations to install a fourth counting wheel so that the meters could display up to $99.99. To accommodate this fourth counting wheel and its display, the owners of gas stations were faced with the need to replace the sheet metal display panels on each gas pump in order to provide a fourth window to display the additional dollar digit. The sheet metal display panels are relatively expensive, being in the range of approximately $20.00 or more. Bearing in mind that there are two such display panels on each gas pump, and considering the number of gas pumps in a typical gasoline station and the number of gasoline stations throughout the country, it can be seen that the cost of replacing these display panels is extremely high, ranging literally into the millions of dollars.